Tag Archives: MSU

Nature can nurture: Gardens help heal students

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By Anna Lionas
Capital News Service

LANSING – Tucked away in the center of Michigan State University’s campus is the nation’s oldest university botanical garden – and a site of the emerging practice of horticulture therapy.

Tucked away in the center of Michigan State’s campus is the nation’s oldest university botanical garden – and a site of the emerging practice of horticulture therapy. The 150-year-old Beal Botanical Garden is a “healing space” where “pretty much everything we do is horticulture therapy.” By Anna Lionas.

“We have people laying in the garden, popup Pilates classes, tours, anything you can imagine,” said Maeve Bassett, the education program director at the 150-year-old Beal Botanical Garden. “In a very general sense, pretty much everything we do is horticulture therapy.”

The practice engages people in gardening and plant-based activities, according to the American Horticultural Therapy Association. It is facilitated by a trained therapist with specific treatment goals.

Encouraging people to use nature as a healing space is a growing discipline, Basset said. Whether they are mathematicians, musicians or veterinarians, her specialty is to find ways to connect the Beal Botanical Garden to what people are interested in.

“The garden has always been made primarily by and for botanists,” Bassett said. “My aim is to show every single person on campus how they can engage with it and get something out of it.”

Following the Feb. 13 shooting that killed three students and seriously injured five others on Michigan State’s campus, the Beal Garden team decided to launch a program already in the works called Nurture Your Roots. The idea was to provide some guidance to the grieving campus.

“It was intentionally designed to be acted out within the garden space because being outdoors and surrounded by nature is an added element of wellness.” Said Angelica Bajos, a Beal Scholar and a garden staff member who studies the environment and sustainability.

Nurture Your Roots focuses on individuals and their wellness and mindfulness.

Locations throughout the garden have a scannable QR code that provides a wellness experience unique to that site. Users are guided through practices like exercise, meditation, writing poetry and listening to music.

“We want to help people develop habits to feel better and healthier about themselves,” Bajos said.

Beal isn’t the only place on campus where students and other people connect with the environment.

“Nature is a great place to reconnect and separate from all the terrible things that have been happening,” said Jessica Wright, the education coordinator at the university’s Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden.

Horticulture has been part of Michigan State since the university opened in 1857. The university was founded in 1855 as an agricultural school and designed to host an abundance of green space. University officials describe the campus as “a key component of a sustainable university, enhancing biodiversity and providing habitat for pollinators.”

Take a stroll south of Beal Botanical Garden and end up in the MSU Horticulture Gardens featuring 14 acres of themed gardens that bloom all summer.

Visiting the Horticulture Gardens means stepping into a different world. A large set of greenhouses at the entrance holds plants, students studying horticulture and, in the springtime, butterflies.

School groups ranging from kindergarteners to graduate students tour them.

“The gardens are a healing and restorative space at MSU,” said Stefon Funderburke, an instructor of a university class that visits sites around campus for its curriculum and that recently toured them. “I will definitely be coming back.”

Wide-eyed students captured colorful flying insects with cell phones. One trio huddled around a butterfly that was laying unmoving in another student’s palm. The group listen intently as Wright from the 4H garden explained that this butterfly was at the end of its life cycle.

“Often students will tell me coming to the gardens brings them back to their childhood and reminds them of fond memories in nature,” Wright said.

The garden is a great way for students to reconnect with nature and an invaluable landscape laboratory for horticulture students, she said.

It also welcomes people with a general passion for nature, said Kollin Bartz, a computer science major who began working at the gardens because of his love of plants.

“I’ve always had a membership to my community garden in my hometown,” Bartz said. “I think being around plants has a positive impact on mental health.”

4-H Butterfly Garden on the MSU campus. Credit: Anna Lionas

While a valuable resource, many students are unaware of the gardens, according to those who tend them.

This summer is a good time to get to know them as there are many programs happening at the MSU Horticulture Gardens and for the 150th anniversary of the Beal Botanical Garden.

Bajos said, “It’s really important that we have a lot of greenspaces on campus. Everyone is coming from different backgrounds, so you never know what people had access to or didn’t before coming to MSU.”

Anna Lionas writes for Great Lakes Echo.

Coping with the aftermath of the MSU shootings

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By Starr Commonwealth

Dr. Caelan Soma (Supplied)

As Michiganders struggle to deal with the aftermath of the Feb. 13 shootings at Michigan State University, many are juggling conflicting emotions: anger, fear, sadness, rage, grief, helplessness and others.

That’s all normal in light of the trauma we collectively witnessed Monday night, according to Dr. Caelan Soma, the chief clinical officer for Starr Commonwealth in Albion, Mich. Many watched the search in real time for the lone gunman who terrorized the East Lansing campus, killing three and sending five to the hospital before turning the gun on himself.

And many, Soma says, are struggling for answers days later.

Soma says the first step is validating the feeling that this was a very scary situation that elicited an acute stress response for many of us, whether we had a student or loved one on the MSU campus or a child on a campus across the country or we are Michiganders without a direct connection.

“You begin to relate to what those kids experienced last night and put yourself in their position,” Soma  said. “Even if you are safe at home, understand the person is no longer a threat and logically know the danger has passed, you can take on a lot of those symptoms and reactions as well.”

Those stress hormones can continue to roil in our bodies for weeks, keeping us on a high state of alert with fear and worry. Soma notes the next step is to find things that make you feel safe – and that can have little to do with logic.

“Telling yourself that the police have the shooter, he can’t hurt anyone anymore, that everyone is safe and lockdown is over isn’t helpful,” Soma explained. “What you have to do is help your body return to a state of balance.”

That can differ person by person, but Soma says it often comes back to connecting with people – hearing the voice of a loved one, spending time with friends, being able to discuss what happened and how you are feeling and then hearing others are feeling the same way. Other body-based ways to help you feel comfort and safety might include cozying up to watch a movie, listening to music, baking cookies, going for a walk or anything that helps you get your body back in balance.

“Our stress response is intense anxiety, and telling people to chill out doesn’t help,” she says. “They need to feel their body is chilling out and experiencing a sense of safety. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”

Founded in 1913 as a home for runaway and homeless boys, Starr Commonwealth has grown and evolved over the decades to provide community-based programs, education and behavioral health services that create and promote universal hope, boundless love and limitless success for children. Starr recognizes that trauma is real – but it does not seal an individual’s fate.

For more information about Starr Commonwealth and its services, visit starr.org.

Commentary: Mass shooting coverage shows crucial role of student journalists

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By Eric Freedman
Capital News Service

Eric Freedman (Supplied/Capital News Service)

LANSING – When the horrendous shooting occurred on the Michigan State University campus, student journalists rushed in to cover the tragedy, its impact on the university and community, the investigation and university security.

Their reporting and photos about the Feb. 13 attack that killed three students and seriously wounded five others has appeared prominently in local and national media.

For example, the majority of student correspondents for Capital News Service, our public affairs reporting practicum, were quickly on the job, reporting for The State News – the independent student newspaper – Lansing City Pulse, Impact 89 (WDBM-FM) radio and Michigan Advance.

Articles by another MSU journalism student have been featured in the Washington Post.

In my role as a journalism professor, I see their professional-caliber work as a vivid demonstration of the importance of training the next generations of news gatherers and storytellers.

That’s increasingly crucial in an era when traditional U.S. mainstream news media – magazines and newspapers, radio and television stations – are slashing staff, merging companies, even going out of business. The trend is depriving the public of timely, fair, ethical and accurate information and news.

One damaging result is the growing number of “news deserts” in the United States, counties without a newspaper of their own.

The nonpartisan Center for Community News has been researching the growth of university-led, student-staffed news services that give students real-world experience while providing communities with the news they need.

 

“Millions of Americans get their news from student reporters working in university-coordinated newsrooms, news labs and classes,” the center pointed out in a study released earlier this year.

 

Such collaborations “are high-touch programs in which faculty teach and mentor students, edit and assign work and coordinate with media partners — enabling local stories that would not exist otherwise,” according to the center, which is based at the University of Vermont.

I fully endorse the center’s assertion that “local news is more than just a trusted source of critical information: It’s an essential ingredient in a healthy democracy. Communities with dedicated local news organizations report higher levels of civic engagement, social cohesion, and effective problem-solving.”

The center says, “We connect student journalists at every stage of life with local news organizations to help build a world in which every community has access to reliable information by and for the people who live there.”

MSU has two such news services.

Credit: Asher Freedman

Students in Capital News Service, now in its 41st year, report on Michigan public policy, government and politics for about 45 newspapers and online news outlets across the state.

Our subscribing member news organizations range in circulation size from the Detroit News to small community publications such as the WKTV Journal. They range geographically from Iron Mountain to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula and from the Northern Lower Peninsula to Sturgis and Three Rivers in Southwest Michigan and Monroe, Blissfield and Adrian in Southeast Michigan.

Our second student-news service, Great Lakes Echo, reports on the environment – including energy, transportation, environmental justice and environmental health – in Michigan and the other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces. Many of those stories are reposted by other news organizations in the region.

Elsewhere in the state, broadcast students at Eastern Michigan University partner with National Public Radio affiliate WEMU to produce audio stories, according to the Center for Community News.

Nationally, more than 100 colleges and universities have some type of academic-news collaborations, according to the center. In other Great Lakes states, there are also statehouse-focused programs run by the University of Illinois and by the State University of New York at New Paltz.

“Universities and colleges can provide leadership and resources to address the local news crisis,” the center’s January report said. “Many are doing something, but many could do more.”

They need to prepare students to cover the news that matters and the news that engages the public, whether it’s a mass shooting, the impacts of climate change, elections, pandemics, fluctuating gas prices, even the World Series and the Oscars.

As the center’s report puts it:“Democracy needs local news. Colleges and universities are part of the solution. Students are looking for meaningful experiences, and to learn by doing.”

Eric Freedman is the director of Capital News Service and the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

Snapshots: Fun news you need to know from Wyoming and Kentwood

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WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

 

 

Quote of the Day

"I could never resist the call of the trail."  - Buffalo Bill

 

Take a Hike

 

For most of West Michigan, the weather is supposed to be fairly decent on Sunday depending on where you are. This means it will be a great weekend to hit the trails and go exploring. West Michigan has an incredible trail system. My personal favorite is walking the Kent Trails until I get to 84th Street in Byron Centre and then heading over to Houseman’s for an ice cream. (Trust me I’ve earned it by then!)  For more trailblazing ideas, we turn to our friends at the West Michigan Tourist Association who have put together some really cool trail adventures. And we are totally with WMTA when they say “whether you’re traveling by foot or by bike, once you’ve experienced West Michigan immersive trails, you’ll have a hard time getting back in the car at the end of the day.” Amen to that. For more, click here.

 

The Neighbors are having a Party

 

The annual Byron Days Festival takes place this weekend with Saturday being packed full of activities from a pancake breakfast at 7:30 a.m. to a 10:30 a.m. parade and fireworks at dusk. In between there are all kinds of activities such as a classic car show, music, family movies, and food. For more on the event, click here.

 

 

 

The Good Blob

 

A boat owner pulled their pontoon out of Juno Lake (Cass County, in southern Michigan), and discovered a weird, alien-looking, gelatinous blob attached to it below the water line. Was it an invasive species? Toxic algae? Eggs of an alien from outer space!?

 

Jo Latimore from the Michigan State University Extension actually says these blobs are a good thing. To learn more, click here.

 

 

 

Be Involved and be informed

 

In WKTV’s continuing quest to help residents be informed, we take a look at the State House of Representative candidates that are seeking their party’s spot in the upcoming Aug. 7 primary. In the 72nd District race there are two Republican candidates and in the 77th District, there are two Republicans and two Democrats. For more, click here.

 

Fun Fact:

Rollo or Reginald

Those were the names considered for that famous red-nosed reindeer. Rollo was rejected because it sounded too sunny or happy and Reginald was rejected because it was too British. You can catch Rudolph and the gang this November when the musical makes it way to DeVos Performance Hall.

MSU Horticulture Gardens will be abuzz with Bee-Palooza on June 24th

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Photos courtesy MSU Department of Entomology

 

By Julianna Wilson, MSU Department of Entomology

 

MSU Bee Palooza is held annually In celebration of National Pollinator Week in the lovely MSU Horticulture Gardens.

 

This free, fun and education event is organized by volunteers to provide an afternoon of interactive activities centered on understanding the wonderful world of pollinators. Stations are set up around the gardens and can be visited in any order. On display are active honeybee and bumblebee colonies, examples of wild Michigan bees and wild bee hotels, plants and gardening practices to support pollinators, as well as demonstrations about how important bees are to food production. Guided wild bee tours and other hands-on activities are offered throughout the afternoon event.

 

Why hold a Bee Palooza?

Worldwide reports and concerns about pollinator declines have increased awareness and interest in pollinators and what humans can do to help. In 2012, the United States established a National Pollinator Week, which inspired members of the MSU Department of Entomology to host the first Bee Palooza in the MSU Horticulture Gardens.

 

What are pollinators and why are they important?

Pollinators — especially bees — play an important role in the production of many seeds, nuts and fruits. Pollination is the transfer of  pollen grains to fertilizer the seed-producing ovaries of flowers. Many trees, shrubs and wildflowers also depend on bees and other animals for pollination.

  • When: Sunday, June 24, 2018
  • Time: 1-4pm
  • Where: Michigan State University, 336 Village Dr, East Lansing, MI 48823, United States

For more info, go here. For the map, go here.

 

Pollinators & Pollination At MSU

Michigan is a leader in honey production and in many pollination-dependent fruit and vegetable crops. MSU Extension provides the latest information on pollinators and pollination including fact sheets from the Smart Gardening Program, webinars, educational seminars, email newsletters, and other online resources. Visit the Michigan Pollinator Initiative website for more information and resources for beekeepers, growers, and home gardeners.

 

Exploring Bias

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Diversidad Pura – Mirta Toledo 1993

By Dionardo Pizana

 

“Who me? I don’t have a biased bone in my body.”

 

Often the level of discomfort of understanding and owning our biases stems from the shortsighted belief that the issue of bias is simply about good and bad people.

 

Simply put, we all have biases and the issue is not the thought or bias, the issue is if we act on the bias to exclude or discriminate against others different from us.

 

Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness. (Kirwan Institute, Ohio State University).

 

In the article entitled, “The Real Effects of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace,” (https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/~/media/Files/documents/executive-development/unc-white-paper-the-real-effects-of-unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace-Final) author Horace McCormick identifies several of the known unconscious (implicit) biases that directly impact the workplace. These bias definition include:

  • Affinity Bias – the tendency to warm up to people like ourselves.
  • Halo Effect – the tendency to think everything about a person is good because you like that person.
  • Perception Bias – the tendency to form stereotypes and assumptions about certain groups that make it impossible to make an objective judgement about members of those groups.
  • Confirmation Bias – the tendency for people to seek information that confirms pre-existing beliefs and assumptions.

These biases can influence decisions at all levels of the organization and help to support an organizational culture that becomes supportive to some while excluding others. Interestingly if you are in the organization and are a member of an underrepresented or excluded group — across race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities or other differences – these so-called unconscious (implicit) biases are often quite conscious and visible.

 

‘Diversity Mask’ by Spiva Arts

Here are a few suggestions that individuals or organizations that want to address unconscious (implicit) biases can do:

  • Unconscious bias does not in and of itself make us bad people.
  • Be aware that we all have unconscious bias. These biases can be addressed through intentionally making them visible when they appear, not acting on those biases or replacing the biases with new or alternative information.
  • Be aware of the strong connections between unconscious bias, prejudice and discrimination.
  • Be aware of the role that media plays in directly or indirectly perpetuating bias about differences. Even if we don’t agree with these portrayals, we are impacted by them.
  • Many of our unconscious biases are formed from no, limited or negative experiences with people who are different from us. Build authentic and connected relationships with individuals who are different from you. Building and nurturing these relationships can help to build a reservoir of hopefully new and positive information about these individuals or groups that can replace negative or harmful information.
  • When a bias appears within us, make it conscious to yourself and question whether this bias is something that will inform your actions in the situation or if the bias is something that is contrary to who you are and how you want to interact with that individual or group.
  • Create intentional organizational structures and policies that account for and address biases that may occur or be present in the existing organizational culture.
  • Slow down processes and invite the opportunity to discuss biases that may be present within the organization and its employees and take corrective action.
  • If we work for organizations that support and nurture an organizational culture where fairness and equity is directly or indirectly linked to the organizational goals, when biases appear, it can create the right conditions for a “moment of disconnect” or dissonance which can trigger your bias control.

Adapted from, The Unconscious Bias Fact Sheet” (Cornish and Jones) https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/physics/people/equality/Documents/ub-fact-sheet

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Shop with all your senses this season

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Eating a variety of colors will benefit your health and add color to your plate.

By Denise Aungst, Michigan State University Extension

 

Michigan produce is in season, and there is no better time to shop with all of your senses. The smells, colors, textures, sounds and tastes of the markets will aliven and inspire you.

 

Michigan is second only to California in the variety of fruits and vegetables grown, so each week farmers markets have new items. Eating a variety of colors will benefit your health and add color to your plate. A diet rich in bright colors helps ensure your intake of daily vitamins and minerals.

Red – heart strong

Found in tomatoes and peppers

Orange – eye health

Found in carrots, peppers, tomatoes and sweet potatoes

Yellow – immune system

Found in squash, beans and tomatoes

Green – strong teeth and bones

Found in kale, spinach, peppers, peas, broccoli, lettuces and green beans

Blue and purple – memory

Found in blueberries, eggplant, beets, carrots (look for the purple variety) and lettuces

 

All fruits and vegetables are full of the things we need and low in the things we need less of, such as fat, sodium and cholesterol making them helpful in reducing risk for diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

 

To promote our robust Michigan agriculture, economy and the health of seniors, Michigan has entered a partnership with agencies including local Commission on Aging distribute thousands of dollars in MarketFresh coupons. These dollars are used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables across the state. In three counties of northern Michigan (Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Presque Isle) alone, $24,000 in coupons have been distributed to income eligible seniors.

 

Check out Michigan Farm Market Association’s website mifma.org for market locations and details.

 

Double Up Food Bucks program allows recipients Michigan Bridge Card / Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) to swipe their card for tokens that can be redeemed at the market and double the value up to $20. Double Up Food Bucks helps you double the amount of dollars you can spend on Michigan produce.

 

Ideas to incorporate the recommended 2-3 cups of produce (based on age, gender) include eating some at every meal and snack. Suggestions I’ve heard from seniors across northern Michigan at MarketFresh presentations include:

  • Breakfast — smoothies, omelettes, and cereal/oatmeal topped with fruit
  • Lunch — salads, lettuce/tomatoes on sandwiches, grapes added to chicken salad, and tacos
  • Dinners — steamed vegetables, stir fry with rice, and grilled
  • Snacks — celery and peanut butter, raw cucumber spears, and sliced fruits

Enjoy the bountiful benefits of farm market shopping. Your health and local economy will thank you.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888.MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).